'What would you do?' should provoke simple answer

Published 2:11 pm, Monday, November 14, 2011

If any one of us were to walk in on a grown man raping a child, surely we would all react in one of two ways:

1 - Intervene to stop the crime if physically able to do so, and then call police.

2- Immediately dial 911.

At least that was my assumption. Apparently, not everyone feels the same way. Such was the case with Penn State graduate assistant Mike McQueary when he, according to his grand jury testimony, surprised former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky as he was raping a boy he guessed to be 10 years old.

I've heard people around town saying something along these lines: "You don't know what you would until you're in that situation."

Uh, really?

McQueary, we would learn through the grand jury report, was understandably distraught after witnessing an unspeakable act in the athletic shower. But instead of calling police, he contacted his father, who advised him to let head coach Joe Paterno know. This meeting happened the morning after he witnessed the alleged sexual assault.

Then the next day Paterno called Athletic Director Tim Curley. Later that month McQueary, Curley and Gary Schultz, senior vice president of finance and business meet. McQueary tells them he witnessed a child being raped, according to the grand jury report.

The incident is not reported to police and here it is over nine years--and many victims later--when Sandusky faces 40 criminal charges as Curley and Schultz are charged with perjury. The grand jury made clear in its report they found McQueary's testimony credible.

Now Paterno, a legend known not only for winning football games but also a lifetime of generosity and integrity, is fired and left with a tarnished reputation. Many stand by the beloved coach, giving him the benefit of every doubt. "We don't know what he knew," you'll hear his faithful supporters say. Also fired was the university's president, Graham Spanier.

Here's what seems clear:

Current Penn State football players and the student body have taken the lead, in my view, as the university tries to move forward from the shame and pain.

While the board of trustees and new administration may be reacting with damage control, these young people are reaching out to rape victims with prayers and fundraisers. They are to be commended.

But at the end of the day, so many are asking themselves the question that starts this column.

Remember that 10-year-old boy who needed help, and no one did anything? Then there's all the subsequent child victims identified in the grand jury report.